Trunk or treat: Bringing the Halloween magic to Heritage

A night full of spooks and scares, the Halloween spirit came to Heritage 5-7 p.m. Oct. 31 for the annual Trunk or Treat event, hosted by National Honor Society (NHS).

Planning this event took a lot of coordination. NHS set up six different committees to handle tasks such as cars, refreshments and hallway decorations.

“I worked with the NHS officer board to coordinate committees and assign volunteers to make sure the various events and activities would run smoothly for all of the kids who showed up,” NHS Co-President senior Lila Cohen said.

Many clubs participated as well, setting up activities in the 9000 building for the kids to do. Key Club and SGA set up cookie decorating, Spanish Honor Society painted faces, HOSA set up a hospital game room, Psychology club created an “Inside Out 2” themed room, Black Gold and Green made dirt cups, JH SGA hosted slime making, Sigma XI put together assorted science experiments and last but not least, NHS had a haunted house.

Senior Aubrey Capara, Key Club President, set up Key Club’s cookie decorating room.“Our activity was definitely a lot of work, but the kids seemed to have so much fun decorating the cookies, so it was all worth it,” Caprara said.

The scene was lively outside as well, with about 40 cars filling up the parking lot. The NHS Cars Committee, alongside some other clubs, such as GirlUP and Pre-Law Society, decorated cars and filled the trunks with candy for the kids to “trunk or treat” from.

“I was happy to see the big turnout. Organizing this committee was not easy because there were so many cars and tons of prior planning, but I’d say it went well overall,” NHS Car Committee Chair and Secretary of Student Activities senior Maliha Daya said.

To enter, it cost $10 per kid, with all proceeds from the night benefitting the Salvation Army Angel Tree. This charity helps provide Christmas gifts for hundreds of thousands of children around the country each year.

Overall, this year’s trunk or treat is one for the books. The NHS officers would like to thank their sponsors, Mrs. Michele Okun and Mrs. Shaneka Major, along with all participants, for their help.

“I think [Trunk or Treat] went really well. I’m really glad we had so many high schoolers show up to make it such an incredible experience, and I saw so many kids running around excitedly and playing with their friends,” Cohen said. “Because of the money we raised, we’re now able to fund angel tree and buy holiday presents for kids who otherwise couldn’t afford them.”

NHS Co-President Shreyan Singha agrees. “It was a huge success and we couldn’t have done it without all the hard work and effort put in.”

_{The trunks may look scary, but the treats inside are sweet. kids were able to “trunk or treat” after lot three was transformed from a basic parking lot into a vivacious Halloween scene. (Photos/Emma Colarte Delgado)}

_{Clubs such as Sigma Xi, Psychology Club and the Spanish National Honor Society hosted rooms where activities like slime building and face painting took place. (Photos/Emma Colarte Delgado)}

_{The hallways are full of fake cobwebs and bloody handprints to escalate the Halloween spirit. (Photos/Emma Delgado)}

_{As the NHS officer in charge of the Haunted House Committee, junior Thomas Gioia stuffs drapings into the ceiling boards. Once complete, the committee shut off the lights and planted students throughout to jump out and scare the brave participants. (Photo/Emma Colarte Delgado)}

_{NHS officers seniors Zoe Horwitz (left) and Mila Bond (right) deliver candy out to the cars. With so many cars participating, new bags of candy were constantly distributed. (Photo/Emma Delgado)}